Blind
by KnightAngel765
Summary: Ever since an accident that took away his sight TK has been living in complete darkness with only his memories to remind him of what he's missing. Despite living in darkness his optimism shines through and hope remains. What happens when he and his hope finds it's match in a girl and her light?
1. Chapter 1

My name is Takeru 'TK' Takaishi. I'm 12 years old, about 5' tall, I love to read and write, and listen to music. That's pretty much my world. I would love nothing more than to be a writer. Some people want to be famous or rich I just want to use my writing to touch people's hearts. Even if it's only ever one person that'll be enough. I have dark blonde hair, and ocean blue eyes. At least that's what my family tells me. I don't remember it for myself. You see I'm blind, have been since the day of the accident that changed my life four years ago. Since then I haven't been able to see even the smallest bit of light.

I can't remember the light of the sun, or the blue of the sky, or the green of leaves in the spring. I've never seen the ocean that people say my eyes put to shame, I can't remember my mother's smile, and I've never seen my brother play his guitar that he loves so much.

While not being able to see is difficult at times I wouldn't change it for anything. While I may not be able to see my other senses are unusually sharp. I guess that's proof of what people say: that if one of your senses is missing that the rest grow sharper to compensate.

My hearing is probably the best and perhaps that's why I love music so much. I can hear every note in every song my brother Matt plays. I can even tune his guitar better than he can. My sense of touch is excellent-it has to be to be able to read braille. My sense of smell is exceptional, almost as good as my hearing. I can smell the scent of my mother's perfume and my brother's cologne long before they approach.

Since my accident I have lived in darkness. I had believed that I always would. But I was alright with it to me it was a more than fair trade. Still I was never happier to be wrong.

TKTKTKTKTKTK

Like any other story this one starts with a girl, or rather a prank involving a girl. I was just lucky it ended well.

It was my first day of middle school. I was naturally nervous. I had never been to this place before. I had no idea where I was or where I needed to go. Which is pretty common for it being the first day of school. However being blind makes it decidedly difficult to get around. I was waiting in the office for the student assigned to guide me until I was able to get around well enough on my own. He was already fifteen minutes late meeting me. I was just about to leave and try to find my way on my own when he finally showed up.

As we made our way out of the office he told me his name was Daisuke but that everyone called him Davis. His voice was loud and obnoxious. He reminded me of Matt's friend Tai. Although I liked Tai much better. While Tai was still loud and excitable he knew when to tone it down and focus. He was also much more considerate towards people. Davis on the other hand…it seemed like the only thing he could talk about was himself.

After a few minutes of listening to his mindless babbling I tuned him out and focused on counting my steps. It's one of the things you learn to do to help you get around when you can't actually see where you're going. Focus is one of those things too. With hearing like mine being in such a crowded place can very quickly be headache inducing. Hence the headphones around my neck, being able to cut out the excess noise from the whispers and loud conversations is extremely helpful. With just the sound of the music to focus on it makes it much easier to concentrate.

After a few more minutes of walking Davis finally stopped talking and we stopped. As I focused in on his voice again I noted it was still just as obnoxious as before. The last thing I heard him say as he walked away is that he would be back to take me to my next class. Although I could have sworn I heard him laugh as he walked away.

Putting my suspicions aside I found the door handle and walked in…..

TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK

The first thing I notice about the room I walk into is that it's warmer than the hallway I was just in. I can hear water running and over the sound of the water I can hear two girls talking softly. I have barely a moment to process what Davis must have done before the screaming starts.

The loud shrill sound echoes in what must be the tiled confines of the girl's locker room. As I cover my ears in an attempt to protect them from the sound I open my mouth in an attempt to explain. However my quiet voice is drowned out by the sound of the girls screaming. Or as I would learn later the sound of a girl screaming. Just as suddenly as it starts the screaming stops and I hear her voice for the first time.

It's soft and gentle, I have never heard such a beautiful voice. Luckily for me she doesn't sound angry, in fact she sounds more compassionate than angry.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing in here?"

"Uh…well….you see Davis was-"

"I am going to wring his neck!"

My attempt to explain was cut off by the sound of a second voice, different from the first it has none of the gentle qualities and I instantly knew which one I prefer. Again I covered my ears as her scream of rage echoed around the room, wincing at the high pitched noise.

"Yolei stop yelling, you're too loud…." The first voice interrupted her.

"What do you mean I'm too loud?! Did you not just hear what he said about Davis?" "Yes I heard what he said, Yolei but look at how he's reacting to your screaming."

"Oh…why are you acting like that? And why are you still in here anyway? Why are you still looking at us?" The voice known as Yolei asked, her pitch and volume at a somewhat more reasonable level now.

I felt heat flood my face as Yolei asked the one question I hate being asked. Despite being blind not being due to any fault of mine or anyone else's it is the question that makes me the most uncomfortable. I struggled for an answer as the silence stretched on from a few seconds to nearly a minute.

"You can't see us can you?" That gentle voice from before once again came to my rescue and I nodded quickly. "Since I can't see my hearing is sharper than most people's. Your voice was a little painful in hear, not just loud but echoing too which didn't help things. Sorry for walking in on you. Davis was supposed to guide me to my class but obviously he thought this was a better idea."

"I'm going to kill him!" I winced again as Yolei's voice echoed off of the tile walls and around the room. "Yolei!" the first voice admonished her once again. "Oh…right. I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright, it's not like you did it on purpose, besides I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to kill Davis." Yolei agreed enthusiastically with my reply as the other voice laughed lightly. I couldn't help but smile at the sound. It was impossible to describe, but I loved it immediately from that very first time, much sweeter than any music.

"Your right anyway I really shouldn't be in here." I said as I turned to leave…and promptly ran face first into the door. "Ouch…alright not my best moment." I said as I rubbed my forehead with one hand and searched for the door handle with the other. "Hey wait for us outside ok?" I turned as the first voice spoke again.

"Why?" I asked with confusion in my voice. "You said Davis was going to guide you to your class right? Since he isn't here why don't you let me and Yolei take you?" she asked. Blushing once again I nodded in answer as I finally found the cool metal of the door handle and prepared to open the door and walk out. A thought struck me as I began to open the door.

"Uh you two aren't standing in front of the door are you? I don't think the two of you want the whole school seeing you dressed…er…however it is you're dressed." I said quickly as I felt my face heat up again. "Oh don't worry we're out of the way. No one will see anything." The voice associated with the girl called Yolei answered. "But thank you for being so considerate." The first voice added. I would have to remember to ask her name. I nodded as I quickly opened the door and walked out into the hallway.

Having nothing better to do for the moment and seeing as getting around was going to be difficult without help from the two girls I waited idly next to the locker room. I could hear the whispers as the other students wondered why I was waiting there and the usual ones about my appearance. After all a kid walking with a cane was unusual, not to mention the school dress code tended to forbid headphones like mine being out in the open during school hours.

The sound of the door next to me opening and the rush of warm air as well as two chattering voices, one being much more excitable was my cue that the two girls had exited the locker room.

"Are you ready?" The first voice asked and I couldn't help but smile at the sound. Even with the loud noise in the hallway her voice still stood out despite its inherent gentleness. "Yeah but I still don't know your name."

"Oh that's right. I'm so sorry, my name is Hikari, but everyone calls me Kari." The gentle voice said again. The sound came from directly in front of me as I caught the scent of her perfume. _'Vanilla, simple and clean.' _ I thought to myself as the scent wafted over me. "And this is my friend Yolei."

"That's right! I am the greatest computer genius this school has ever seen." She exclaimed as Kari laughed at her antics and I smiled at the sound. "Alright then my name is Takeru, but everyone calls me TK."

"Nice to meet you TK!" Yolei chirped excitedly. "Right, I'm sure the three of us will get along great." Kari said. "Now do you mind if we take a look at your schedule?" Nodding as I searched my pockets before finding the carefully folded piece of paper. After a moment of silence from the two girls broken only by the rustling sound of paper being unfolded.

"Hmm…I wonder…" Kari's mused as I heard another sheet of paper being unfolded. "I thought your schedule looked familiar TK. Mine is exactly the same. This is perfect." She said as she folded and put away her schedule. What she did next however surprised me and I flinched slightly as she gently took my hand in hers and returned my carefully folded schedule to my hand.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you." She said as she felt me flinch as I blushed again. "It's alright, I'm just not used to someone outside of family doing that." I smiled in her direction and she seemed to take my smile as assurance that everything was alright. "I'll be sure to warn you next time then. Now let's get to class. We still have plenty of time before class starts so it shouldn't be a problem getting there on time. I'm going to take your hand again alright?" She said as she gently slipped her hand into mine. I smiled towards the sound of her voice as I nodded.

As we walked Kari and I listened quietly as Yolei planned the best way to get revenge on Davis for his prank. "After what he did to you TK don't you think he deserves to be punished?" Yolei said. "Well considering that his prank failed rather badly considering the circumstances I think that is punishment enough, at least from my end anyway. Although if you do plan on killing him I can honestly say that I saw absolutely nothing even if you did it right in front of me." I said with a smirk as Kari and Yolei laughed.

"Ha I have a better idea! Besides death would be too quick for him. He should suffer at least a little before the end." Yolei said as she laughed maniacally. "And what exactly is your idea Yolei?" Kari asked with curiosity and amusement in her voice.

"Well you know how he is always chasing after you Kari?" "Yeah but what has that got to do with anything?" "Well…since the two of you are holding hands he might get the wrong idea…" Yolei trailed off and I could almost feel the malevolence coming off of her. "I don't think that would be a good idea even if he does deserve it." I said as Kari began to protest.

"Aw come on. He deserves it, besides he is always chasing Kari around no matter how many times she turns him down. Maybe this will get him to leave her alone."

"Yolei…" From the tone of her voice I could tell that Kari wasn't exactly comfortable with this idea either.

"No, Yolei. You shouldn't play with someone's feelings like that even as a joke. No one deserves to be treated like that. If Kari and I were together that would be different but….no this isn't the way to go about getting even with him." I said forcefully. The two girls stopped at the change in my tone. "Are you alright TK?" Kari asked as she gently squeezed my hand. "Yeah…it's just personal, that's all." I wondered briefly if she could see the feelings in my eyes as she gently squeezed my hand again.

"Alright fine. I'll just have to think of something else." Yolei grumbled as we walked into the classroom. As the door closed behind us and the sound from the hallway was cut off I heard Yolei scream again, in joy this time instead of anger.

"KEN!" Her exclamation followed by the sound of someone crashing to the floor, and Kari's laugh gave me a good idea of what had just happened. "Yolei just jumped this Ken person didn't she?" I asked as confirmation as Kari laughed harder. "Yeah, although you'd think Ken would be used to getting jumped by her by now. They've been dating for almost a year." I smiled in answer as a voice that must have been Ken's rose up from the floor. "Yolei do you mind getting off me? You can't jump me if I'm dead because you suffocated me." A muffled male voice said.

"Oh right sorry Ken." Yolei giggled as she got off of Ken. As I felt Yolei and another presence that must be Ken approach me and Kari. "Who is this Kari? Yolei hasn't told me anything about you dating anyone." Ken said in a teasing voice. "Yeah well you're the last person I'd expect to jump to that conclusion Ken. Yolei must be rubbing off on you." Kari replied as she teased him back although she didn't let go of my hand.

"That's not a bad thing." Yolei chirped from her place next to Ken. "It's true we could all use a little more enthusiasm in our lives." Ken agreed as I laughed at his answer. "Sounds like you have a good one there Yolei. Smart of him to agree with you." I said as the three laughed at my reply. "Of course he's not a genius for nothing." Yolei said.

"I'm Ken Ichijoji, It's nice to meet you." He said as he turned to me. "I'm Takeru, but you can call me TK." There was a pause for a moment that stretched into an uncomfortable silence as I realized Ken was waiting for me to do something else. Kari again came to my rescue by gently taking my hand she was holding and placing it in Ken's own before he shook it in greeting. "Ah I'm sorry." I said as I quickly realized my error. "I uh…I'm blind."

"No the fault is mine I should have realized. Kari isn't the type to be holding someone's hand for no reason. I'm guessing she is taken to guiding you around to your classes?" Ken asked. "Yeah luckily we have the same schedule so it works out nicely. Although this morning was an adventure." I answered.

"Oh, how so?" Ken asked as Yolei launched into an explanation of what had taken place. "Why am I not surprised?" Ken said in an exasperated tone. "This actually isn't the first time he's done this, although this is the first time his plan backfired. Usually the other party is too embarrassed to come forward and tell anyone what had happened so he hasn't gotten caught yet."

"Ha that's how we'll do it!" Yolei yelled as I winced again, Kari squeezed my hand again in sympathy and I reflexively squeezed back. "TK do you mind talking to one of the teachers about what Davis did? I mean you didn't see anything so no harm was really done but Davis needs to be stopped. I'm sure they won't blame you for what happened. Besides Kari and I have caught him trying to peek into the girl's locker room before." Yolei asked. I smiled and nodded in answer. "Sure that's just fine, like you said I didn't see anything and what he's doing is wrong. Plus I like it much better than your last idea."

"Let me guess Yolei wanted to use you to make Davis leave Kari alone?" Ken asked with a chuckle. I laughed in reply. "That's what I thought. He's been chasing her since they were little kids." "Hey you have to admit Kari it's getting annoying. He's even started following you home after school." Yolei said.

"Uh…well yeah but I'm sure he would never do anything drastic, besides he's scared out of his mind by Tai." Kari said her voice somewhat uncomfortable. I gently squeezed her hand and she squeezed back in answer. "You know Tai would never let anything happen to me." Kari said her voice decidedly stronger.

"Alright class, please take your seats. We'll be starting in a few moments. You may sit wherever you please as long as you are able to concentrate." A male voice that I assumed was the teacher's rang out in the room and I winced again at the noise of metal screeching against linoleum. As I felt Ken and Yolei turn away from Kari and I to go sit down Kari's voice cut through the noise. "Where do you want to sit TK?" she asked. "Um wherever Ken and Yolei are sitting will be fine."

"Alright, and…thanks for before. I really don't like talking about Davis, it makes me uncomfortable." She whispered the last part to me before guiding me to a seat and taking the one to my immediate left. I could hear Yolei on Kari's right and Ken's voice from beyond hers. _'The girls must be in the middle with Ken and I on the outside.' _ I thought as I answered Kari. "It's alright besides I owe you for helping me." I smiled at her as I pulled out my laptop and got ready for class.

"Alright class I am your History teacher for this year. As a few of you have noticed we have a special student in our class this year. Relax, Mr. Takaishi I am not going to draw any more attention to you than I am right now. As you can see he has a computer on his desk. Not a one of you is to touch it without his permission and no complaining please because he is allowed one and you are not. Due to Mr. Takaishi's circumstances the school has allowed him to have one in class to take notes for him. I take it everything is prepared?"

"Yes sir." I replied. "Excellent, now where is ? He was supposed to stay with you until class started." "Um…well…do you mind if you and I talk about that after class?" I asked. "Very well Mr. Takaishi. Why do I have the feeling that I am not going to like what happened. In any case on with today's lesson."

**Chapter 2**

_Ring,Ring_

The bell sounding the end of our first class rang loudly making me flinch slightly. I winced again as the sound of chairs scraping the floor rang through the room as the rest of the students rose to leave. I felt Kari stand up next to me as I packed away my laptop in my bag. I stood up and felt Kari gently nudge my shoulder as she took my hand again. I squeezed it gently in reply as we made our way to the front of the room. I could hear Ken and Yolei talking quietly as they too made their way to the front of the room.

"I'm guessing this involves the four of you then since you're all here?" Mr. Osamu's voice was quiet but stern. "Yes sir." I answered and began to explain what had taken place earlier that morning.

"Why am I not surprised, although this is a little far even for Mr. Motomiya." Mr Osamu echoed Ken's words from earlier. "I will see to it that he is punished appropriately. I have had my eye on him ever since orientation a couple weeks ago. When you've been teaching for as long as I have you tend to become very good at reading your students." He said with a small laugh. "Now Ms. Kamiya has the same schedule as you Mr. Takaishi correct?"

"Yes sir. She has already been kind enough to offer to guide me around the school until I can get around on my own." "Excellent, thank you Ms. Kamiya, you do your name justice." "Actually we all have the same schedule's this year." Yolei exclaimed. "Ah happy about being able to spend so much time with Mr. Ichijoji no doubt Ms. Inoue." Mr. Osamu laughed at her excitement. "Just be sure to focus on your school work."

"Oh don't worry I doubt Ken would let any of us fail our classes." Yolei said. "Then you have found yourself a good partner Ms. Inoue. You should all inspire and encourage each other to do your best in all that you do. Now off to your next class please. You should have plenty of time to make it."

"Thank you sir" Kari said as she guided me out of the classroom and into the hallway. The loud noise assaulted my hearing and I reached for the headphones around my neck to cut out the noise. "Are you alright? Kari's gentle voice once again cut through the noise and stopped my movements. "Yeah I'm alright it's just loud is all. My hearing is more sensitive than most people's."

"I noticed you wince a little earlier in class when people got up to leave." She said as we walked to out next class behind Ken and Yolei. "Yeah noises like that aren't exactly pleasant. You know that nails on a chalkboard noise?"

"Yeah."

"Well take that noise and make it three times as loud and that much again higher in pitch and you'll have an idea of what all those chairs scraping across the floor sounds like." "Ah I'm sorry." She replied her voice full of concern.

"Haha don't worry it's not like you're the one causing it. Besides I'll get used to it after a few days." "That's good but I don't want anything bad happening to you." She said. I smiled in her direction as I answered. "Really it's alright, I'll be just fine. Besides with you guiding me around I'm sure everything will be alright."

"Good, cause I'm really getting used to holding your hand." She replied in a teasing voice. I laughed as I replied. "Haha well I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Besides with my luck I'd probably fall down a flight of stairs or something." I joked.

"Hey! That isn't funny Takeru." She grumbled as I felt her gently smack my shoulder with her free hand. "Easy there Hikari, do that again and I just might risk taking the stairs." I teased. "You're incorrigible." She laughed as she replied.

"Ha blame my brother Matt for that one. It's entirely his fault for corrupting me." She laughed as we walked into the room for our next class behind Yolei and Ken. I sighed and shook my head as the usual whispers and a few new ones assaulted my ears as Kari and I walked in.

"Hey who's the new guy?" "What's up with the headphones?" "And the cane? What is he crippled?" "Why is he holding hands with Kari?" "Lucky girl he's hot. Look at those eyes!" "I'll kill him Kari is mine!"

Anger boiled in my veins as I heard this last statement directed toward the kind, gentle girl standing beside me. Before I had a chance to think words were pouring out of my mouth. "Hey she's not an object you know. Just because she turned you down when you asked her out doesn't give you the right to treat her like an object to be owned."

"Well said Mr. Takaishi." I turned quickly as a strong female voice sounded from behind me. "Easy Mr. Takaishi I'm standing right behind you. Class, to your seats please. Ms. Kamiya, would you please help Mr. Takaishi to a seat?" I turned back toward Kari as she gently tugged my hand in the direction of a seat close by. "Thank you class, I am Mrs. Pennington I will be your English teacher this year. As you can see the class rules are clearly posted here in the front of the room. The first rule is by far the most important and if broken will result in the harshest punishment: Everyone in this room will be treated with respect. If I hear any of you talking about any of your fellow students from any class you will receive a detention and no amount of begging will release you from it. Mr. Takaishi you may want to put your headphones on for a moment, Ms. Kamiya will tap your shoulder once the class has answered my question." Confused as to what she meant I nevertheless did as she asked. "Do you understand class?"

The class answered with a resounding yes that was audible even through the music playing in my headphones. As I felt Kari tap my hand I reached up to remove my headphones and was greeted by the rare sound of complete silence in the room. "Now as it appears that Ms. Kamiya and her friends are already aware of Mr. Takaishi's circumstances I do not feel the need to enlighten the rest of you. Suffice it to say that he will tell you if he wishes you to know, please do not bother him with needless questions. Mr. Takaishi are you ready to begin?"

"Yes ma'am." I answered in the affirmative. As the teacher began her lecture I felt Kari gently nudge my foot under the table with her own in a silent thank you. I gently nudged her back in reply.

TKTKTKTKTKTKTK

The rest of the first day passed in a blur as the teachers and subject began to blend together slightly. Each of the teachers had said a similar speech essentially asking the class to treat me no differently than anyone else. The usual scraping of chairs as class began and ended, combined with the loud chatter in the hallways and high pitched ringing of the bells left me with more than a slight headache at the end of the day. As was becoming common Kari was the first to notice as we were waling to her locker.

"Are you alright TK?" she asked with genuine concern in her voice, and despite the pounding in my head I smiled at the sound. "Just a headache is all. Not used to hearing so many loud noises during the day."

"Why didn't you put your headphones on then? I'm sure the teachers wouldn't have minded if you'd explained it to them." "Ah well…normally I would have but…" I trailed off as I felt heat rising to my face as my lips betrayed me. "I didn't want to miss out on hearing your voice. It's lovely."

"Well thank you, but I think you might be a little biased from holding my hand all day." She said laughing as she replied.

"Eh…perhaps just a little." I said as I smiled in her direction. "Hmm…well I think I'm alright with that." She teased as she struggled to open her locker. "Ah come on. Why isn't the lock working? I'm putting the combination in right." After hearing her struggle with the locker for a few minutes I spoke up.

"Do you mind if I give it a try?" I asked her as the hallway emptied and the noise faded into silence. "Um…not to be rude but…how are you going to open it if you can't see the numbers?" She asked with confusion in her voice. "You'll see, just let me give it a shot."

"Alright." She said as she stepped aside and watched as I ran my hands over the cool metal of her locker before finding the dial and pressing my ear against her locker before beginning to slowly turn the dial.

"You may want to write the numbers down in case the combination they gave you is wrong." I said as I listened to the tumblers clicking as I turned the dial.

_Click,click,click,click,click,thunk._

'_One down, two to go.'_

_Click,click,click,thunk._

'_Just one more.'_

_Click,click,thunk._

"Got it. And thank you for being quiet while I got the locker open Yolei and hello to you too Ken." I said as the door popped open. "How did you do that?!" Yolei exclaimed. "How did I know you were standing there or how did I open Kari's locker?" I teased. "Both!" she answered with her usual enthusiasm.

"One of the perks of being blind. As far as the lock goes if it's quiet enough I can hear the tumblers clicking or falling into place, gave my mom quite a bit of trouble when I would use her safe at home for practice." The three laughed at my statement as I continued my explanation. "You learn very quickly that everyone has a different way of walking. Each person's steps sound different. You for example, Yolei walk very quickly, your steps sound like someone very excitedly ringing a doorbell over and over again. Kari on the other hand is more…patient in her steps. Hers are much softer than yours. She's very quiet in comparison to most people actually. Although both of you are quite graceful, you both have dance practice before school right?"

"How do you know about our dance classes?" Kari asked. "When my mom was in high school and college she took dance classes. Your movements sound similar to hers so I took a guess. All those years of dancing show in the way she walks."

"And what about me? What can you tell about me?" Ken asked with curiosity in his voice. "That's easy. You're a soccer player right? I can smell the dried grass on your cleats from your practice this morning. Soccer is the only sport being played this time of year so it can't be anything else. You tend to balance all your weight on the balls of your feet so you can move quickly to intercept the ball right? Your steps are heavy, but still graceful which is surprising." I smiled as the three stood there in silence.

"I wish I could see the looks on your faces right now." I joked as the three laughed "What I wouldn't give for a camera."

"Actually I have one right here." Kari spoke up "I love photography so I never go anywhere without one."

"But why does it matter I mean you won't be able to see them right?" Yolei asked.

"Yolei! I can't believe you just asked him that." Kari exclaimed "I'm so sorry TK." "It's fine, it's a perfectly valid question. Fact of the matter is there isn't anything wrong with my eyes. They just don't work like they should." I said as Kari took my hand and we walked out of the school toward the gate.

"How can that be? I mean there must be something wrong with them for you to not be able to see right?" Ken asked. "That's the odd thing, even the doctors can't figure out what's wrong. Everything is exactly as it should be except I can't see."

"So there's a chance you could see one day?" Kari asked with a gentle squeeze of my hand. "That's what the doctors say, although they have no idea if it'll actually happen or not." I replied as I squeezed back.

"That's great TK! Maybe it'll happen one day soon! It would be awesome for you to be able to see again." Yolei shouted. I could just imagine her jumping in her excitement. "Haha yeah it would but we'll see what happens. I'm just happy to be here. I could be a lot worse off."

"What do you mean by worse off?" Kari asked. "Ah…well it's a long story. Yolei your phone is ringing." I said with a smile. "Hey! How did you hear that? It was on vibrate." she asked as she answered.

"It was buzzing against the keys in your purse." I answered as I smiled in her direction. Ken, Kari and I waited in silence for Yolei to get off the phone before continuing our conversation.

"That was my mom. She needs me to get home so I can cover for her at the store. I'll see you guys tomorrow. We'll have to have our study session tomorrow. I expect to see all of you there, including you TK." Yolei said in a voice that left me no option.

"You sure? I'm not sure I'd do much good." I said as I felt heat rise to my face. "Of course I'm sure! Besides we could always use another member of our study group. It's right after school three days a week at my house since it's the shortest walk from school."

"Not to mention with your parents owning their own store there's plenty of snacks." Ken said with a laugh.

"Alright then I'll be there." I laughed as she and Ken left, Yolei to her parent's store and Ken to walk her there, leaving me and Kari alone together.

**A/N: Hey there. This is an idea for a new story I have. Right now I'm just playing with it so I'm not real sure where it'll go but for now the ideas are flowing and keeping me up at night. **** As per my usual, I've already started on the second chapter so I'll likely update fairly soon. As always read and review.**


	2. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So does she remember you?"

"Doesn't look like it. Not that I really expected her too. After an accident like that she's lucky to be alive."

"Yeah well so are you."

"Did you really expect me to do anything else? This is Kari were talking about after all."

"No, but you could have been a little smarter about it. Leaving for France right after you both got out of the hospital didn't help things. Not that you had a choice in that. Mom was rather insistent about it."

"True but she was just trying to do what she thought was best. She thought the doctors in France would be better able to help me, and it was nice being able to live elsewhere than Japan for a while."

"Although you would have rather been here with her right?"

"Of course, Matt. No place else I'd rather be."

"I still say you're a little crazy for waiting so long. Even if she is my best friend's sister."

"Matt…it's Kari. You know the girl I've known since I was too young to remember. The girl I fell in love with before I knew what love was. Just because it took you so long to find Hayley doesn't mean everyone has to wait that long."

I could hear the smile in his voice at the mention of his American girlfriend. "Yeah well you know I've got your back. Tai does too for that matter. After what you did for Kari I'm pretty sure he'd be alright if you decided to pop the question right in front of him."

"Eh…Matt don't you think we're a little young for that? I mean I know you and Hayley are pretty serious but I have a long way to go."

"Yeah well the two of you looked like you were pretty close to me. She was holding your hand and all when I pulled up."

"Matt I can't see. Was she supposed to just leave me standing there and walk off? Kari wouldn't do that to anyone."

"TK, we both know you're more than capable of standing on your own. She didn't have to hold your hand. Even if her mind doesn't remember you I'm sure her heart does." I could hear the teasing tone to his voice and could almost imagine the smirk on his face.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to force her. Friends first and then we'll see what happens from there. Maybe if I'm lucky she'll remember me eventually."

"Fair enough, although for the record…she looked pretty happy standing there holding your hand." Try as I might I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my face as I felt the car stop. "Thanks Matt." I said as I stepped out of the car. "Always little bro."

The cool morning air brushed across my face as I heard Matt's car drive away. 'He really needs to take better care of his car. Or at least learn how to drive a stick.' I winced as I heard the gears grind. 'Yeah really needs to learn how to drive a stick.'

"Hey TK!"

I turned quickly to my left as Yolei's distinctive voice drew my attention…right before someone rammed into me. The scent of Yolei's distinctive shampoo invaded my senses as I felt her jump me knocking me over. Or rather into someone standing next to me. 'Vanilla…Kari.'

"Yolei! What did I tell you about doing that?" Kari's voice held more than a hint of annoyance as she helped Yolei and I regain our footing. "Heh sorry TK I just couldn't resist." Yolei's voice held more amusement then regret. I smiled in her direction as I replied.

"It's alright Kari. I'll just have to be more careful around Yolei in the future. Although I would have expected that kind of treatment to be reserved for Ken."

"Actually Yolei treats all of her friends that way. It's just why she treats Ken that way that makes it special." Kari said. "She likes all of us but Ken is definitely her favorite."

"Haha yeah I kind of expected that, but does Kari have a favorite?" I teasingly asked Yolei. "Oh you bet she does. She doesn't remember who it is though, most of him anyway."

"Oh why don't you remember him?" I asked Kari as I felt her fingertips brush across the back of my hand before she grasped my hand, gently leading me towards the direction of the school.

"I had an accident when I was younger. According to my brother Tai, my friend and I were playing at the park one day and I ran out into the street. The doctors said if he hadn't pushed me out of the way it would have killed me. I hit my head pretty hard when I landed on the sidewalk and all my memories from before then are pretty fuzzy. The only thing I remember about him is his eyes. We were both still little then but I'm willing to bet his eyes haven't changed at all. They always looked at me with such love and care. I keep hoping I'll find him one day but no luck so far."

I couldn't help but smile at her as I replied. "Well I am sure wherever he is I am sure he will be very lucky once you find him. Or perhaps he's looking for you too."

"Haha I don't know about that. I'm just regular old Hikari. I'm sure he wouldn't be attracted to me at all. There are much prettier girls than me for him to choose from. Besides he moved away after the accident and we haven't had any contact since."

"Doesn't mean he isn't looking for you. Moving may not have been his choice. If he cared for you that much I'm sure he would have preferred to stay with you." I said.

"Hurry up you two! We're going to be late if you don't hurry." Yolei's shout rose above the crowd, making me wince as it rose into a higher pitch than most people are able to reach. "Yolei. You're doing it again." Kari's soft voice immediately halted the oncoming headache from Yolei's voice.

"Well that's new." I muttered to myself as Kari and I walked faster to our first class. "What's new TK?" She asked.

"Ah well remember what I told you yesterday about loud or high pitched noised giving me headaches? Well for some reason Yolei is capable of doing that all on her own." I explained with a laugh.

"I'm sorry TK. I did tell her to not be so loud when we talked after we walked home yesterday." She said apologetically.

I gently squeezed her hand and smiled at her as I answered. "It's alright Kari, that's not the new thing anyway. I've met more than a few headache inducing people. The new thing is that your voice of all things seems to be very soothing. After shouting like that I would have expected to have a headache in an hour or so. There's just something about your voice that makes it stop. Which is a good thing in my book."

"Keep talking to me like that and you're going to make me blush even more than I already am." She replied teasingly. "Come on let's get to class before we're late."

'Days like this are ones that I really wished I could still see. But still….fair trade in my opinion. Kari's life for my eye sight…yeah I got the better end of that deal with the devil. I bet she's even more beautiful than I remember…especially when she blushes…'

**A/N: Hey there, as promised to one of my reviewers (and an excellent author in her own right) here is an update for Blind. As I told her I struggled with this quite a bit so as always let me know what you think. Also if you get the chance check out 's profile. She's got an excellent Takari story and one in the works. A very inventive author and worthy of taking a look at if you're a Takari fan.**


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